1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the placement of a decorative and protective border on two-dimensional works of art. This process is called matting and the border is called the mat.
The safest way to permanently display a work of art on paper is to mat it and place it in a frame protected with a sheet of glass.
Matting serves two purposes, one esthetic, the other protective. Esthetically, a mat adds a color and design element in the form of a border to the picture. It also protects a painting by providing a breathing space between it and the glass.
The choice of color of the mat is of utmost importance. A well chosen mat complements a picture and relates it harmoniously to the local environment. A picture can be affected adversely by a poorly chosen mat.
The present method of choosing a mat does not serve the usual patron well. Mat and frame shops do not provide full sample mats to aid in the selection process. They provide instead partial corner mats to be placed at the corner of the picture to be matted (FIG. 6). Full mats (FIG. 7) are not provided. The patron can not actually see his picture fully trial matted. He must make a decision of how the picture will look on the basis of partial corner mats (FIG. 6).
Pictures brought to be matted are of many different sizes. Mats are usually made of cardboard products, fabrics, cork, or other materials. Mats of large size are flexible, floppy, and unwieldy to use. If a shop provided full mats in all ranges of size and color it would require a large inventory, greater storage area and greater countertop space. The actual process of sorting out different color mats for a patron to use would be difficult and time consuming. In the usual double matting (FIG. 10B) capability the shop would have to double this inventory, and to have triple matting capability (FIG. 10C) the shop would have to triple this large inventory at increased expense.
The invention to be detailed makes it possible to visually select a full mat for any size picture with one size of approximately 4.5.times.5 inch outer dimension mats for triple matting capability.
These small mats are easily used, handled, sorted, stored, separated and interchanged. They will permit the patron to see his picture of any size completely bordered by a single, double or triple colored mat (FIG. 11). This preview will help insure a suitable choice of the final mat.
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description of it.
2. Description of the Prior art
The most closely related patents that we have found date back to the use of the stereoscope or stereo-opticon. They are U.S. Pat. Nos.:
1,194,057--Aug. 8, 1916--J. J. Murphy PA0 1,900,557--Mar. 7, 1933--G. A Holcombe PA0 2,261,850--Nov. 4, 1941--B. W. Kelly PA0 2,289,467--Jul. 14, 1942--B. L. Taylor PA0 2,581,000--Jan. 1, 1952--J. C. Copeland PA0 4,550,978--Nov. 5, 1985--Alvin A. Friedle
None of these patents discloses my dual position mat selection device in which the viewing eyepiece is used to restrict the field of view to a holder containing a small sample mat which may be moved so as to fill the periphery of the visual field, and with the entire device then physically placed so that the illusion of a mat surrounding a picture is created and preserved.